Sega Funds Ex-Box Talent

[Bond]

http://xbox.ign.com/articles/359/359071p1.html

Former Microsoft company employees Seamus Blackley and Kevin Bachus officially announced today that they have started up a new game development company focused on creating software for multiple platforms including Xbox, GameCube, PS2 and PC. The upstart, Capital Entertainment Group, or CEG, has already partnered with Sega to publish its first two games.
Blackley, who was formerly chief technology officer on Xbox at Microsoft, and Bachus, who previously handled game development relations for the console, have teamed with ex-Sierra Online senior vice president J. Mark Hood and Dotted Line Entertainment founder Eugene Mauro on the new studio, which is currently attempting to raise some $50 million in venture backing.

"I've found over the last year that it was becoming increasingly difficult to get innovative, original titles funded," Mauro told Reuters. "I put together a model that was a little bit VC (venture capital), a lot of bit of production."

That model calls for CEG to front the development costs of its software, leaving distribution and marketing up to the publishers. The developer will then take a cut of net game sales. CEG believes that investors can break even this way after software sales of 250,000 copies.

The company's first two games will be published by Sega, but will not be released until the holiday season of next year. While no specifics on which platforms the titles would debut on were released, Bachus told Reuters that CEG would back not only Xbox, but GameCube, PS2 and PC, too. He also said that the developer has no current plans to support the handheld market. "Sega entertaining this opportunity is very flattering," said Bachus.

Look for more news on the upstart and its games as we head into the big Electronics Entertainment Expo, which kicks off shortly in Los Angeles, California.

Definitely a good move by Sega, Blackley is a genius. Anyway... I'm not sure what kind of games they'll be making, but it still sounds rather interesting.

[BlueFire]

Very interesting. This seems promising.